As I have pointed out, the US is full of local mandates on individuals. The national Obamacare individual mandate is unprecedented, however. It is difficult to predict how the Supreme Court will rule on it constitutionality. The all powerful commerce clause has seldom been limited.

If the Supreme Court does uphold the individual mandate as constitutional, it raises an interesting questions. What would be an example of an action by the Federal Government that would be beyond the Government’s commerce clause power?

If there are no limits, then the Federal Government has unlimited police powers, except to the extent that there is some explicit restriction on those powers (like the 4th or 5th amendments). It would mean that the commerce clause effectively trumps the 10th amendment leaving it meaningless. If it is upheld and no restrictions on the power of the Federal Government under the commerce clause are defined, it will to reconcile that view with the structure of the constitution as designed to create a federal government with enumerated powers.

If there is no limit to the commerce clause, the powers of the Federal Government are not “enumerated”, they are infinite and the Constitution itself is virtually meaningless.